Once upon a time, a little boy venturing around a local airfield, not far away from his father who was doing a walk-around of a beloved Cherokee 140, stared intently at a monster aircraft tied down in the high grass. From his viewpoint, it was ominous. Today I’m still that little boy.
     The checklist complete, it was finally time to take the father-son ride he’d always wanted, up in an airplane. As the Continental engine cranked over, that little boy stared back at the old aircraft. “That’s a Texan!” his father declared with a smile.
     From that day on, I’ve had a warm spot for the North American aircraft legend. Although I’m not flying one today (I finally have a model), the sight of a Texan always brings a smile, the sound of its growling engine gives chills, and stories told of its glory bring a further sense of wonder and patriotic fulfillment.
     This issue obviously has a North American Texan theme. Call it an “AT-6” or “SNJ”; the heart of the aircraft is still all “Texan.” What part of the Texan experience is like today is what our collection of articles should bring to you.
     As if to walk in the footsteps of those pilots who trained in the Texan during WW II, modelers have thought of piloting an RC version to be worthy of stepping into the field of history. Because the aircraft was labeled as a trainer, some have thought flying one would be easy. What they’ve learned, and what I’ve learned, is that flying this airplane is indeed a training exercise, but not always an easy one.
     It was, after all, an aircraft that taught the bad-habit lessons required to safely handle a high-performance fighter. Some would admit that the Texan may have had more bad habits than the fighters they’d fly later, but that meant that pilots were better trained; thus the love affair we have today.
     Flying a Texan is a similar experience for the RC pilot. And this reputation has scared off a number of talents from modeling this historic treasure.
     Not able to test every model out there, we collected at least some ARF versions of the Texan. What we found in our samples is that many of the infamous handling characteristics have been removed, or at least softened.
     There are electric and glow versions to consider, as well as designs that employ conventional and composite construction—or a combination thereof. None of our models was a disappointment, but all reporters noted that it deserved a certain measure of respect. That makes sense. Don’t all of our models deserve that kind of attention?
     When we treat our airplanes with loving attention, as we do the full-scale versions, they return the favor with countless hours of pleasure. How familiar our models are to the “real thing” got me thinking whether or not there was a story out there that could tie in the fanaticism of aircraft ownership and modeling. That’s when a misappropriation of funds then occurred to me.
     That is, the AT-6/SNJ Texan named “Miss Appropriation of Fund$.” It is owned and operated by Fred Johnson, who frequents Muncie for the AMA Nationals with his son, Baron. Both spoke about the aircraft with an obvious verve, like I would if I had just maidened a new model. They were happy to share their story of the Texan with us, which I found very moving.
     Speaking of moving, the “Texan” name is once again employed with the US Air Force to title a trainer. The T-6 Texan II is a turboprop aircraft used to teach today’s military pilots skills that will prepare them for missions in frontline fighters.
     Bob Isaacks has modeled an FF rubber-powered version that does justice to the graceful lines of the aircraft. As he put it, the design had all the right numbers for Rubber Scale. He also mentioned that an inspired modeler might have a lot of luck modifying the design for RC electric.
     Sounds like the Texan will be with us for ages to come. MA